Tourism and Leisure Industry

U.S. airlines are adding seats and staff to accommodate travelers during the busy holiday travel season, trade group Airlines for America said Thursday. This year, some 25.1 million passengers are expected to fly on U.S. airlines during the 12-day Thanksgiving holiday period, which runs Nov. 22 through Dec. 3, A4A said. That's an increase of about 1.5 percent over last year. Last year, more than 500,000 passengers were forecast to travel through Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and nearly 153,000 through Palm Beach International for the Thanksgiving holiday. A4A said U.S. airlines have also added 2 percent more available seats during this 12-day holiday...

Got some interesting e-mails after writing about the Spirit Airlines strike, and I'll share some excerpts of the various perspectives below. To get some background about Spirit Airlines, check out this New York Times business story from March 2009. And...

The developer of a futuristic mall, hotel and entertainment complex proposed for north International Drive has promised a project that will look unlike anything else in Orlando – a "22nd Century" design.
But until recently, parts of it looked...

The gig: Jeff Potter, 54, is chief executive of Surf Air, a Santa Monica start-up that operates a members-only luxury jet service offering unlimited trips throughout California and to Las Vegas. The company is negotiating agreements for flights to Phoenix...

"Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It"
Harmony, $16
Learning a language is like fencing, writes Gabriel Wyner. "Stabbing friends with pointy metal objects resembles language learning more than you might...

When her phone rang that day in 1963, Alice Davis was working as a seamstress, stitching bras and girdles in the downtown Los Angeles garment district.
Walt Disney, the caller said, wanted to see her.
When she arrived at Disney's office, the theme...

Orlando's hotel industry has been having a strong year as evidenced by solid occupancy rates and average daily room rates that are generally higher than last year's.
But Visit Orlando, the region's chief tourism-marketing agency, points out that June's...

Tom Wolber, senior vice president of Walt Disney World Resort and Transportation Operations, has been named president of Euro Disney S.A.S., the management company of Disneyland Paris.Wolber oversaw all of the 28 resort hotels at Walt Disney World and the...

Airline code shares may not be something most fliers care about, but the U.S. Department of Transportation thinks they should. It has proposed a new rule that would require airlines and ticket agents to clearly display the information on their...

"The Happiest Place on Earth" has become one of the most crowded.
Tourists and annual pass holders are flooding Disneyland and California Adventure in large numbers, causing headaches for guests and park officials. Waits for rides often stretch...

Happy just got more expensive. Disneyland, which calls itself the happiest place on Earth, raised its entry prices, a week before the Memorial Day weekend marks the start of summer.
Without notice, Walt Disney Co. raised the price of a single-day...

The drama starring Marybeth Cadotte and United unfolded like a serial e-novel.
The Pittsburgh traveler, trapped on a plane beset with mechanical problems, opened the scene with the first lines of tweetologue.
"Stuck on the plane in Pittsburgh....

One of the most innovative additions to Central Florida's theme parks this year uses a decidedly old-fashioned form of transportation: the train.
Trains have been a theme-park staple since the original Disneyland opened in 1955, with the steam-powered,...

Michael Corenblith is grateful for the rolling hills of Simi Valley.
The production designer on Disney's "Saving Mr. Banks" relied heavily on the 10,000-acre Big Sky Ranch in the Ventura County city to help re-create the childhood home of...

Air New Zealand hopes to get some tail winds from the next installment of "The Hobbit."
In a not-so-subtle marketing campaign tied to the movie, the self-described "airline of Middle-earth," has emblazoned a Boeing 777-300...

More than 200 flights were canceled and more than 5,000 were delayed by a deadly storm that is on track to pounce on the East Coast on the busiest travel day of the year.
The airports hardest hit by the cancellations and delays so far were Charlotte...

If you are among America's well-to-do, you may have noticed that the airline industry has been rolling out the red carpet for you lately.
For good reason. The number of affluent travelers has risen in the last few years, according to a report by the...

If demand for air travel continues rising at its current pace, many of the nation’s biggest airports — including Los Angeles International Airport — will face holiday-like congestion once or twice a week within the next decade.
That is the warning issued...